My Kahn has a 30" barrel + a brake. I have had the rifle for about 4 years now, and after trying several bullets, I settled on the 250 SMK. I am loading 108 grains of RL25 and I get 3340 fps. I like the load and have been shooting it for a while now, but RL25 is too temperature sensitive to suit me, so I am planning to work up a new load one of these days. I have kinda been waiting on the 338 Berger, but I am about to give up on that. I don't have my loading book handy and I don't remember what I was getting with the 300 SMKs. I had some trouble with pencil hole pass throughs on deer with the 300s, is why I went back to the 250s. I have heard the 300s have a thicker jacket, but I really don't know. What I do know is that everything I shoot with a 250 drops in it's tracks with a serious hole.....

Although I can't complain about the performance of this rifle, I had a few issues to resolve with the action. I spent a considerable amount of time stoning the bolt to get the majority of milling marks, read groves, out of it. Then a bit of time with the wheel to finish it up. I had an extraction issue to resolve. Fortunately, I have the resources to address such issues. I dare to think what would transpire,, or not transpire if it was addressed with the Lawton shop.

That being said, here's my suggestions for actions that I have experience with Viersco, BAT, Stiller, Hall.

For single shots, my recommended receiver is the BAT model M 1.55"x8.5" with the stainless steel 40 moa rail base which I modify the receiver and rail to accept 4, 10-32 tapered head mounting bolts.

I have to do this with my PK brakes or the rail WILL work loose when shooting. I have also had to use two sets of scope rings, one to control recoil energy, one to control the extreme deceleration caused by the muzzle brake. I am fine dealing with that to have the very low recoil.

Stocks, my preferred stock is the McMillan A-5 if going for a lighter rifle weight, if weight is not a real issue, I really like the new A-5 SuperMag stocks as well. Joel makes a great stock as well if you like a top end laminate stock.

Barrels. I have used alot of Lilja barrels. THey shoot amazingly well. They are pretty tight bored so they will limited velocity slightly but accuracy is great. Kreigers are also performing very well and they stand up to this extreme chambering a bit longer then the softer button pulled barrels.

Muzzle brakes. Simply put, I feel my 5 port PK brake is the best there is but I designed it specifically for this class of chambering. In a 16 lb rifle, recoil is about like a 270 Win in a sporter weight rifle and thats driving a 300 gr SMK to nearly 3400 fps.

If you want a repeater, THe Lawton is a good choice but as mentioned, it is what it is and there will be some issues with it. Mainly cosmetic. It works, it works well. I just sold my personal 375 AM repeater that used the Lawton and Chey Tac DM system. McMillan Super Mag stock and Lilja 33" barrel. She punched a 4.4" ctc group at 1780 yards driving the 350 gr SMK to 3300 fps.

The 4.4" group is the top triangle. The bottom hit is from earlier in the day in intense mirage and its the only hit I got on steel until the mirage went away, they it was in trouble.

Weight wise, I like a rifle in the 18-19 lb range for serious long range shooting. That is where my standard Xtreme Heavy Sporters come in at with NF scope and Harris bipod.

I also make a lightweight version of my Xtreme Heavy Sporter that uses conventional stocks, all steel barrels and the BAT single shot that comes in at 16 lbs with scope and bipod. Here is a pic of this rifle. This is a customers rifle, just got a report from him that he was finally able to get out and test it and shot some sub 1" three shot groups at 400 yards. He was really itching to stretch things out.

This rifle has the standard A-5 stock but has the adjustable CP. IF you went with a 50mm or smaller objective scope and mounted it as low as possible you could get away without the adj. cp and cut even more weight off the rifle.

Would you be willing to give us the details on the Stiller 408 CT receiver and your professional opinion. Sounds like a great choice for a lighter weight rifle but I have only gotten the standard sales pitch overview, would like to hear your thoughts on this receiver if you have time.

I agree with you that the 1.450" would be a fine choice for a lighter weight rifle.

I had the opportunity to play with one before Jerry made the last few modifications and put them in production. The one I had was the 1.450" single shot.

I now have two single shot actions. The 1.450" and the 1.600", as the repeaters are not out yet. I gave them a quick look, and stuck them back in the box. Really haven't had time to paw over them.

I have two personal builds going on at the moment, and the one I'm trying like hell to get done to take to Alaska in a few weeks. When I get these two finished, I'm going to have Baer barrel up another .338-.408 with one of the TAC 408 actions.

If this action follows suit with his others, I'm sure it will be a good value for the dollar.

I'll be better suited to give you my personal opinion as soon as I get one operational.